A Picture Book Mirror of Various Occupations (Wakoku shoshoku ezukushi) : [volume 1]

Hishikawa, Moronobu, approximately 1618-approximately 1694 · 1685 · Japan : [producer not identified] · 17 pictures

A Japanese woodblock picture book of 1685 by Hishikawa Moronobu, published in Japan, showing everyday trades and craft occupations for a general readership. The double-page spreads pair printed poems above with ink line scenes of workers at their tasks, indoors and in shop interiors. A designer could draw on the clean, economical contour line, the tight panel layouts, and the way a text block sits over each image.

Thomas J. Watson Library, The Metropolitan Museum of Art · No known copyright restrictions · More from this library